Judge Richard Carey to decide what Springfield must pay to Lucy Jones and family in 1999 police brutality claim

SPRINGFIELD - Hampden Superior Court Judge Richard J. Carey on Wednesday heard closing arguments in a hearing on how much money the city should be made to pay Lucy Jones and her three adult children in a police brutality claim dating back to a 1999 incident.

In 2004, a Hampden Superior Court judge issued a default judgment and ordered the city to pay $1 million in damages. But challenges to that amount have led to the hearing this week in front of Carey.

The state Supreme Judicial Court in February 2013 ordered a new hearing to determine damages in the case. Carey has now taken the matter under advisement.

Carey said liability has been established previously regarding Boykan's acts - assault and battery, excessive force and false arrest.

Because the 2004 judgement was a default judgement against the city on procedural grounds, there has never been a hearing in court on the facts of the claim, defense lawyers said.

In their final argument to Carey, lawyers John T. Liebel and Kevin Coyle for the city and Boykan, said Carey should consider if the incident happened the way it was described in the original complaint.

Lucy Jones, her daughters Sierra Jones and Nicole Jones, and her son William Owens Jr. represented themselves at the hearing on damages.

Liebel said in order to establish if any damages are due the family, "the truth has to be in play."

He said the four plaintiffs had conflicting testimony about June 12, 1999.

Liebel accused the family of "coming in with an emotional display," crying at times, but said thee was no credible evidence of the damage the four said the incident did to their future lives and well-being.

He told Carey he must decide "whether or not this has been a horrific injustice not to the Jones family but to the city of Springfield and Officer Boykan."

The four family members each testified to what happened to them or what they saw when Boykan came into their convenience store. Boykan testified he was dispatched that day because a crime victim had said the person who robbed him 10 days before could have gone into the store.

Owens said Boykan grabbed him and handcuffed him, lifting him up and taking him to a cruiser. Lucy Jones said Boykan hit her in the head. Nicole Jones said Boykan assaulted her and put her in a headlock before arresting her.

Boykan testified he was assaulted by Owens and Nicole Jones. Owens and Nicole Jones were charged that day with assaulting Boykan but both were exonerated by a jury.

The four family members testified they have been afraid of police officers since the incident.

Coyle said, "Which account is more believable?....Virtually all of the evidence makes no sense."

Nicole Jones gave the closing argument for her family.

"We established that business through hard work. That was our money, our time," she said of the store.

She said after that incident police harassed family members. "We were embarrassed, shamed," she said.

"We are emotional and we do apologize for all the crying," Nicole Jones told Carey.

A mental health counselor, Richard Doug Moore, had testified he treated Nicole Jones for major depression in 2013.

Liebel had attacked Moore's credentials and in his closing asked why Nicole Jones - who has a masters degree - didn't seek therapy until 2013.

In her closing Nicole Jones said, "I wish I could have gone to therapy right after."

She said just wanted to get away from Springfield and she "pushed myself not to remember what happened."

The reason for the default judgement in favor of the family was stated in an Appeals Court ruling in 2011.

The city was properly served notice and Boykan also admitted he was notified of the 2003 lawsuit filing by the Jones family, the Appeals Court said.

The city and Boykan did not respond to the lawsuit. Instead, they served a motion to dismiss on Jones and her family, who in turn served an opposition.

The city and Boykan never filed the motion or the opposition with the court.

On at least nine occasions, the city and Boykan received notice of filings or court events in the case.

The city and Boykan, however, failed to respond to the complaint, provide discovery, or appear for any motion hearings, the final pretrial conference, the hearing on Jones' request for a default, or the subsequent hearing to assess damages, the Appeals Court said.